And, done.

The grades are in. The books are closed. The students are still emailing, but I’m not rushing to answer them right away. I still have to pick some books for January (the bookstore really must hate me right now), but today I took off in order to finish up my sewing, stand in line at the post office, and brave the grocery stores. Here’s what I’ve learned.
1. Grocery shopping at 5p is dangerous. At 5p the week of Christmas, it’s a nuthouse.
2. People at the post office were pretty calm, given the line. I heard a stat on “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” a week or so ago that most people begin to wig out after 8.5 minutes of waiting. Interesting.
3. I’m tired. Super tired. Mr. Pea made dinner (sausages sauteed with green pepper, mushrooms and onions, on ciabatta) and I’m just loafing on the couch. Today began with errands, filing my grades, a visit to the chiropractor (I didn’t tell you about that–it’s starting to feel like my home away from home), sewing, visiting with the neighbor, running around. The cat and I are bookends on the couch now, and I’m headed to bed soon to read.
4. Spoon roast is on sale at Whole Foods this week, which has led to a lot of googling people, which has led them here. Hi, Whole Foods Sale Shoppers! Tell me all about your roasts!

In the meantime, I’m planning dinner for Christmas eve, when Mr. Pea’s parents will be visiting. I’m thinking lasagna. I’m going to make my own ricotta and mozzarella (I haven’t made either in quite a while). Then I will be making cinnamon buns for Christmas morning, and mashed potatoes to bring to my brother’s house on Christmas day. I’ll be a busy cooking bee for the next several days. I also think I might bring a pear dessert–we got a huge box of ripe pears as a gift this morning, and while they’re tasty, we’ll not eat 7 more before they get too soft. Any suggestions?